SACRAMENTO, Calif — The deadline is nearing for Governor Gavin Newsom to sign or veto multiple bills on his desk.
So far, California's governor has signed bills banning all plastic bags at grocery stores, enhancing protections for renters, smartphone restrictions at schools, protecting child influencer earnings and protecting minors from AI deepfakes.
He's also rejected some, such as a bill that would have made undocumented immigrants eligible for home loans under a state program and a bill that would have established first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models.
Here's what's he's signed so far. He has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto other remaining bills.
Phone-Free Schools
Smartphone use on school campuses across California will either be banned or limited by the start of July 2026.
The change comes as a result of Governor Gavin Newsom signing AB 3216, the Phone-Free School Act. With the new law, every school district, including charter schools and county offices of education, will have to make a policy limiting or banning smartphone use by July 1, 2026.
Children and AI Deepfakes
Newsom signed a pair of proposals aiming to help shield minors from the increasingly prevalent misuse of artificial intelligence tools to generate harmful sexual imagery of children.
The new laws, which received overwhelming bipartisan support, close a legal loophole around AI-generated imagery of child sexual abuse and make it clear child pornography is illegal even if it's AI-generated.
Current law does not allow district attorneys to go after people who possess or distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse images if they cannot prove the materials are depicting a real person, supporters said. Under the new laws, such an offense would qualify as a felony.
Protecting Child Influencers' Earnings
Parents in California who profit from social media posts featuring their children will be required to set aside some earnings for their minor influencers under a pair of measures signed by Newsom.
The California measures, which received overwhelming bipartisan support, require parents and guardians who monetize their children’s online presence to establish a trust for the starlets. Parents will have to keep records of how many minutes the children appear in their online content and how much money they earn from those posts, among other things.
The laws entitle child influencers to a percentage of earnings based on how often they appear on video blogs or online content that generates at least 10 cents per view. The children could sue their parents for failing to do so.
Plastic Bag Ban
The new law signed by Gov. Newsom bans all plastic shopping bags.
California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers could purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly made them reusable and recyclable.
The new measure, approved by state legislators last month, bans all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026.
Housing Proposals: Streamlined housing and new penalties
The package of laws Newsom signed could more state scrutiny and new penalties for pushback on housing and homeless shelter construction.
Supporters said the new laws are crucial for building more housing at all price levels and preventing local governments from skirting state laws.
Cities and counties will be required to plan for housing for very low-income people, streamline permitting processes and expand some renters’ protection. The attorney general will be allowed to pursue civil penalties upward of $50,000 a month against cities or counties for offenses such as failing to adopt a housing plan as required by the state.
Renter Protections
Gov. Newsom signed a package of bills to increase accountability, transparency and efficiency around housing in California. Some of the bills provide clarifications around security deposits.
"What it will require rental property owners to do is do some proof. So when the tenant moves in, they're gonna take pictures of the unit to show the condition that existed," said Debra Carlton, of the California Apartment Association.
Assembly Bill 2747 will allow tenants with good rental history to be reflected in their credit scores, and Senate Bill 611 prevents landlords from charging renters a fee if rent is paid by check.
Another bill, SB 900, allows management companies to start acting on issues with utilities like gas and electricity if a homeowners association doesn't act.
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Apologizing for Slavery
California will formally apologize for slavery and its lingering effects on Black Americans in the state.
The legislation was part of a package of reparations bills introduced this year that seek to offer repair for decades of policies that drove racial disparities for African Americans. Newsom also approved laws to improve protections against hair discrimination for athletes and increase oversight over the banning of books in state prisons.
Election Deepfakes
Gov. Newsom signed three bills to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence to create false images or videos in political ads ahead of the 2024 election.
A new law, set to take effect immediately, makes it illegal to create and publish deepfakes related to elections 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. It also allows courts to stop distribution of the materials and impose civil penalties.
Large social media platforms are also required to remove the deceptive material under a first-in-the-nation law set to be enacted next year. Newsom also signed a bill requiring political campaigns to publicly disclose if they are running ads with materials altered by AI.
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Protecting Actors from Unauthorized AI
Gov. Newsom signed off on legislation aiming at protecting Hollywood actors and performers against unauthorized artificial intelligence that could be used to create digital clones of themselves without their consent.
The new law will allow performers to back out of existing contracts if vague language might allow studios to freely use AI to digitally clone their voices and likeness. The law is set to take effect in 2025.
Increased Penalties for Soliciting Minors
The penalty for soliciting and buying sex from minors 15 and under will be raised to a felony.
For a repeat offender buying sex with any minor 17 and under, prosecutors will be required to charge them with a felony.
For someone charged for the first time with buying sex with a child 15 and under, prosecutors can opt to charge them with a felony. If the victim is 16 or 17, the person buying sex can be charged with a felony only if the teen is a victim of trafficking, according to the new law.
The law is aimed at penalizing the act of paying for sex, whether or not sex actually occurs.
Smash-and-Grab Crackdown
Gov. Newsom signed a bill bringing back tough criminal penalties targeting large-scale stealing schemes and smash-and-grab robberies that have fueled voter frustration across the state.
The new law requires prosecutors to start imposing harsher sentences again for those who damage or destroy property valued at more than $50,000 while committing a felony. A similar law expired in 2018. The new law will sunset by 2030.
Allowing Casino-owning Tribes to Sue Business Competitors
Newsom signed a bill that would allow California’s casino-owning tribes to sue their business competitors, concluding one of the most expensive political fights of the legislative session.
Tribes now have the ability to ask a judge to decide their longstanding claim that the state’s card rooms are illegally offering card games such as black jack and pai gow poker.
Gun Control
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several gun control measures, including one that allows the court to consider stalking and animal cruelty as grounds to restrict access to firearms.
The new laws signed by Newsom will expand restrictions on who could own firearms, prevent the proliferation of “ghost guns” and increase protections for domestic violence survivors.
Sideshow Crackdown
Newsom signed four bills cracking down on illegal sideshows and street takeovers into law.
The four laws will raise penalties for people who participate in sideshows. One new law will allow law enforcement to impound vehicles connected to sideshow activity.
The new laws also standardize sideshows to illegal driving activities on highways or parking lots.
Vetoed: Speeding Alerts
Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required new cars to beep at drivers if they exceed the speed limit.
California would have become the first to require such systems for all new cars, trucks and buses sold in the state starting in 2030. The bill, aimed at reducing traffic deaths, would have mandated that vehicles beep at drivers when they exceed the speed limit by at least 10 mph.
Vetoed: First-in-the-nation AI Safety Measures
Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models.
The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said.
Vetoed: Letting Undocumented Students Work on Campus
Newsom vetoed AB 2586, a bill that would have allowed undocumented students to work on a California public university campus.
In a veto statement, he said the potential consequences of the bill, including potential criminal and civil liability, kept him from signing it. He added that the courts need to address the legality of this type of policy and the legal theory behind it before moving forward.
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Vetoed: Making Undocumented Immigrants Eligible for Home Loan Aid
Newsom vetoed AB 1840, which would have made undocumented immigrants eligible for loans under a state program offering assistance to first-time homebuyers.
Newsom said he could not sign the bill because of limited funding available for state housing assistance programs.
The bill had opposition from Republicans in California and beyond arguing that the state should prioritize housing assistance for resident in the country legally. Proponents said the legislation would have improved the quality of life for hard-working families, regardless of their immigration status.
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Vetoed: Tracking State Spending on Homelessness Programs
In his veto message, Newsom said he couldn't sign the bill because similar legislation already exists. He pointed to AB 166 that requires reporting for two of the state's largest homeless programs. The bill was aimed at tracking state spending on homelessness and housing programs.
The governor's veto message also adds AB 799 addresses the same objective's as the bill but is more cost effective.
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